Fool us twice, we won’t get fooled again*

So, I just put on Hannity to see how the wingers are responding to today’s decision. They seem to have seized upon the fact that in upholding the ACA, the Supreme Court used Congress’ taxing authority as a basis for upholding the individual mandate.

Hannity (and other wing-nuts) is now calling the ACA the “biggest tax increase in history,” and a huge tax increase on the middle class. Eric Cantor just asserted that the ACA will raise the tax on stock dividends from 15% to 43%. What planet is this guy on?

These are simply lies. And if I learned anything from the debacle of 2009-10, it is that we must push back on their efforts to push this and other false memes on the American people at every moment.

Back then, when I heard about death panels and other crazy stuff, I said to myself, “This is nuts. People will never believe this crap.”

But I was partially wrong. Yes, their arguments were nuts, but we allowed the wing-nuts to make their arguments in a vacuum, and so people wound up believing their crazy talk. Because of that, we in the reality-based community have only ourselves to blame for the electoral disasters of 2009 and 2010.

Folks, this is not a tax increase.

Consider, if you get your health insurance through your employer (like 80% of Americans), your taxes will not be affected one dollar by the ACA.

If you have (or, as a result of the ACA, will be able to obtain) health insurance through some other means, such as a health exchange, like 15% of Americans, your taxes will not be affected one dollar by the ACA.

If you are among the 5% of American who selfishly or ignorantly refuse to take steps to ensure your own health care, you can simply do the right thing and purchase health insurance that you should purchase anyway for your sake and peace of mind, and your taxes will not be affected one dollar by the ACA.

This is not a tax increase. Conservatives and Republicans are lying when they try to argue that this is a tax increase. Do not believe them. Call them liars when they make this argument.

Because they are lying.

We can’t let their lies gain currency this time. Push back fast. Go to their websites. Call your representative. Talk to your friends and neighbors. Push back hard.